Motorola Edge 40 Pro review

Looks like AOSP, feels like Moto

The Edge 40 Pro follows the Motorola tradition of offering a nearly AOSP-looking version of Android (13, in this case), augmented by a handful of proprietary features. It gets better too, because the Edge 40 Pro is promised to get 3 OS upgrades over the course of its software support, while security updates should be coming for 4 years.

We do believe that this clean appearance is a selling factor generally applicable to all Moto devices, while the added functionality helps widen the appeal for even more users.

The Quick Settings and notification shade are pretty distinct in recent AOSP versions, compared to essentially all manufacturers' overlays. That means big and bubbly buttons, of which you only get four on the first pull, up to 8 on the second, and a full-screen notification shade.

The Android 12's overhauled widgets stuck for another OS version. The widget picker offers responsive previews for differently-sized widgets. The new API supports dynamic coloring by tying into the Material You theming engine, allowing the widgets to adapt to the wallpaper.

Quick settings • Notification shade • Widgets

The Material You auto-theming feature is here, too, though it's masked behind a slightly customized Moto-specific theming interface. You can still get wallpaper-based accent colors, which will apply to Google apps and the settings menu. Motorola also has a separate Interactive wallpapers app from which you can download a number of dynamic wallpapers.

Personalization

As is usually the case, Motorola has added a handful of useful extras. They are all placed in a Moto settings app that lists them in categories. The Moto app itself has a new look this year, one we first saw on the Moto G53.

Moto app

The first category is personalization - that's where the OS-native auto-theming is housed on Moto phones. There is also a wide selection of Moto wallpapers in addition to Google's own, plus the option to leverage AI to create your own from the photos in your gallery.

Then come the gestures. By now, you must have seen Moto's karate chop motion that turns on and off the flashlight and the twisting motion that launches the camera app. Both work even when the device is locked.

The lift-to-unlock gesture works well with the face unlock, as it unlocks the device as soon as you pick it up and look at the screen. A swipe-to-split function is available, too - it triggers split-screen multitasking. You can also double-tap the back of the phone to do a custom action.

Gestures

The display-related features are Peek Display and Attentive Display. The former works as a second-best alternative to the Always-on display feature, which is actually missing, but with some added functionality to make up for it.

The screen lights up when it detects motion that's close to the phone or when you pick it up. Once you've received some kind of notification, you can tap on it, see the message, and even interact with it from the lock screen.

Attentive Display disables the screen timeout as long as there's a face looking at the screen.

You also get Edge Lights as an alternative to a notification LED. Motorola wants us to place the phone flat on its face though, which we're not too keen on.

Display

Then there's the Play section. Here, you'll find the Gametime utility, which offers the usual functionality of tools like call and notification blocking and screen recording. Additionally, there are optional shortcuts for media playback when the screen is locked using the volume keys and a Dolby Atmos sound enhancement utility.

Play

With recent versions, Google has been investing heavily in the privacy and security aspects of Android. This includes things like the Privacy dashboard, which offers a unified view of what permission is being used by what app and when.

There are also the camera and microphone indicators in the top right corner of the screen for an immediate clue that you're being watched/listened to, but also the quick toggles to limit access to those altogether. There is also the option to determine whether an app gets your precise coordinates or an approximate location.

Secure folder is pretty self-explanatory. It is a vault to keep your sensitive apps and files. There are a few interesting network protection options on board, like the ability to block certain apps from accessing the network while you are connected to an unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot.

Other interesting security features include the ability to lock your network and security settings for as long as your screen is locked. Also, the ability to scramble your pin input interface for higher security. You can access all of these security and privacy settings through a separate Moto Secure app shortcut as well.

Security and privacy

A relatively new feature is the Overcharge protection toggle in the Battery menu. It will cut off charging once it detects that the phone hasn't been unplugged for three days straight and keep the battery charged at a much healthier 80%. Also, if you want to time your fastest possible charging (or, you know, if you just want to use it), be sure to enable the 'Charge boost' feature, which is off out of the box.

Battery features

Motorola's 'Ready For' platform (now more often styled with capitalized words, though not with any significant consistency), introduced in 2021 and available on high-end Motos like this one, enables a multitude of use cases that put the phone in the center of a big-screen experience. Connecting a TV or a monitor allows you to get a Windows-desktop-like environment, play a game on your phone, display it on the external screen, or even have a video chat on a larger display.

'Ready For'

The connection can be made with a cable - either with the 'Ready For' cable (or another USB-C MHL Alt solution) or with a USB-C-to-C cable with a compatible monitor. Alternatively, you can connect wirelessly to a Miracast-capable display.

If you don't have a mouse and/or keyboard handy, the phone's screen can be used as a trackpad and/or keyboard.

You can also use 'Ready For' on a Windows-based PC - it runs within a window on your desktop. This is helpful when you want to run an Android app from your computer or multi-task between devices on just one screen.

'Ready For' on a Windows PC

Another use case of 'Ready for' on a Windows PC is for video calls, where you can use the phone's camera to capture yourself and an external display to see the other participants.

Performance and benchmarks

The Edge 40 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 - Qualcomm's high end chip for (at least the first half of) 2023. The recap for the generational developments goes like this - 35% higher performance and 40% improved efficiency of the CPU, 25% and 45% performance and efficiency bumps on the GPU side, and support for new, faster memory technologies (LPDDR5X and UFS 4.0).

The Edge 40 Pro comes with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. The China-only Moto X40 also exists in an 8GB/128GB spec that gets the older UFS 3.1 storage. Our review unit is the 12GB/256GB version.

Going on our usual benchmark trip, we start with GeekBench where the Moto posts the excellent numbers you'd expect from its chip. Whether it's GeekBench 5 or 6, the Edge 40 Pro is up there with the best, under both single-core and multi-core loads.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  1551
• Xiaomi 13
  1492
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  1482
• iQOO 11
  1479
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  1276
• Realme GT3
  1271
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  1196
• Galaxy S22+
  1165
• OnePlus 11
  1150
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  1130
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  1073
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  1060
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  1056

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13
  5129
• Galaxy S23+
  5073
• OnePlus 11
  4899
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  4896
• iQOO 11
  4803
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  4378
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  4265
• Realme GT3
  3898
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  3658
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  3608
• Galaxy S22+
  3528
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  3458
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  3187

GeekBench 6 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13
  2004
• Galaxy S23+
  1997
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  1996
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  1943
• OnePlus 11
  1527
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  1448
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  1399
• Realme GT3
  1398

GeekBench 6 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13
  5480
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  5352
• Galaxy S23+
  5261
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  5096
• OnePlus 11
  5043
• Realme GT3
  3980
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  3913
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  3589

Similarly, the Edge 40 Pro delivers top marks in Antutu.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• iQOO 11
  1281665
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  1273764
• Xiaomi 13
  1248260
• Galaxy S23+
  1234077
• OnePlus 11
  1140661
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  1074722
• Realme GT3
  1074427
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  953897
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  941895
• Galaxy S22+
  886916
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  827929
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  796369

The Edge 40 Pro also excels in the onscreen runs of the GFXBench tests where it's among the top performers in all charts. While it's more or less tied at the top in the more demanding tests, the gap widens in the older, less intense ones - the Edge 40 Pro's 165Hz display allows the GPU more freedom where others are capped at 120Hz/120fps. Now, perhaps you can come up with a better answer than us as to what you're going to do with those extra frames per second, but the point is you have them.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  89
• Xiaomi 13
  88
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  86
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  65
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  59
• iQOO 11
  54
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  52
• Realme GT3
  51
• Galaxy S22+
  50
• OnePlus 11
  49
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  43
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  26

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  98
• Galaxy S23+
  93
• Xiaomi 13
  91
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  62
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  60
• iQOO 11
  55
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  54
• OnePlus 11
  53
• Realme GT3
  52
• Galaxy S22+
  51
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  35
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  25

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  112
• Galaxy S23+
  110
• Xiaomi 13
  109
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  78
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  73
• Galaxy S22+
  68
• iQOO 11
  67
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  62
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  60
• Realme GT3
  59
• OnePlus 11
  57
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  34

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  164
• Xiaomi 13
  121
• Galaxy S23+
  120
• iQOO 11
  112
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  111
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  97
• Galaxy S22+
  94
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  82
• OnePlus 11
  60
• Realme GT3
  60
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  60
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  57

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  166
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  142
• Xiaomi 13
  121
• Galaxy S23+
  120
• iQOO 11
  120
• Galaxy S22+
  118
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  103
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  93
• OnePlus 11
  60
• Realme GT3
  60
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  60

In the offscreen tests in GFX Bench, there's essentially no difference between the results of the SD8G2 phones. On the other hand, there's a pretty wide gap separating them from phones with last year's SoCs.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  62
• iQOO 11
  62
• Xiaomi 13
  61
• OnePlus 11
  61
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  60
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  47
• Realme GT3
  44
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  43
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  39
• Galaxy S22+
  31
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  29
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  26

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  69
• Xiaomi 13
  69
• iQOO 11
  69
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  68
• OnePlus 11
  68
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  51
• Realme GT3
  48
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  45
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  43
• Galaxy S22+
  34
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  30
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  23

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  130
• iQOO 11
  128
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  127
• Xiaomi 13
  127
• OnePlus 11
  126
• Realme GT3
  104
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  104
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  95
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  93
• Galaxy S22+
  76
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  63
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  63

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  224
• Xiaomi 13
  222
• iQOO 11
  222
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  220
• OnePlus 11
  220
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  184
• Realme GT3
  177
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  160
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  121
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  108
• Galaxy S22+
  105
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  81

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13
  327
• OnePlus 11
  327
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  322
• iQOO 11
  321
• Galaxy S23+
  319
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  272
• Realme GT3
  257
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  251
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  178
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  170
• Galaxy S22+
  168
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  99

A bit more of the same can be observed in 3DMark as well.

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• iQOO 11
  12738
• Galaxy S23+
  12654
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  12230
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  10248
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  9406
• Galaxy S22+
  7405
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  6470
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  5797

3DMark Wild Life Extreme (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  3830
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  3684
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  3660
• OnePlus 11
  3594
• iQOO 11
  3514
• Xiaomi 13
  2980
• OnePlus 11R 5G
  2807
• Realme GT3
  2792
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  1835

The Edge 40 Pro also proved a very stable performer under sustained load. In both the CPU throttling test and the 3DMark Wild Life it got about 80% stability ratings.

CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test